The Strongest Bishop in the NBA

This is obviously a frightening thing to think about.

The reason is simple. The Heat's James has already performed at a super level, playing his best competitive level.

But what about the Wizards?

Almost all of the players played at normal standards.

Curry scored 26 points, George 23 points and Thompson 20 points.

Although these scores are not low, it is definitely not a wonderful performance for several players.

But it is such a tepid Wizards team with no one in a particularly hot state, but it still pushed the Heat team led by James, who scored 40+ triple-doubles in the game, to a desperate situation!

If Curry played better here and made one or two more three-pointers, the game might have ended early...

Of course, when writing reports, the reporters decisively and selectively forgot about these things. After all, the league now has a faint tendency to portray the Wizards as the villain of the league.

With an invincible record in the league, an enviable talent pool, and a young head coach who likes to take the pace and provoke troubles, this kind of shaping is obviously easier to attract attention.

...

This loss to the Heat made Wang Xiao a little upset, but he didn't take it all to heart. After all, the future is long, and one or two regular season games can't explain anything. The playoffs are the real place to fight .

But Leonard's state made him a little worried.

As the only superstar in the team who can rival Curry in terms of future hard power, Leonard's strength and growth are unmatched by George and Jimmy Butler.

And Leonard has always been known for his maturity and stability. In another time-space Spurs period, he was even known as the Little Stone Buddha, and he and Duncan formed a duo with facial paralysis.

Originally, Wang Xiao thought that players like Leonard were the least of his worries, but it turned out that he still thought too simply.

Getting blown up on the field is not the same as getting killed in person.

As a first-year rookie, when he tried his best to confront James, but was killed head-on by the opponent, even Leonard couldn't let go of such a blow.

In the next few games and daily training, Wang Xiao could clearly feel that Leonard always had a hard time concentrating and felt absent-minded.

Fortunately, after the situation in the finals of last season, Wang Xiao, who has learned a lot from a pitfall, has proposed to the team to hire a psychologist. Although the team did not hire a full-time psychologist as Wang Xiao thought in the end. , but also hired a well-known local psychologist in Washington.

The doctor will not go out with the team, but at a fixed time every month, Wizards players will come to his clinic to talk to ensure the mental health of the players.

After discovering that Leonard was in poor condition, Wang Xiao immediately asked Leonard to meet with a psychiatrist to understand the situation.

The result was as expected by Wang Xiao. After a simple conversation, the psychiatrist concluded that Leonard lacked self-confidence now and was skeptical about his performance on the field, and the matter of being overthrown by James had always been a mystery. It is hard to let go of it in his heart.

"Kawai is a child with a very strong mentality. Given enough time, he will definitely be able to adjust himself, but it's hard to say the time and state of adjustment." The psychiatrist said this to Wang Xiao. "My suggestion is that it is best to have some outside help, which will help him build up his self-confidence more easily."

Since professional psychologists have said so, Wang Xiao naturally dare not neglect.

In the next few games, Leonard's playing time began to gradually increase, and the team's tactical arrangements gradually moved closer to him.

Leonard's offensive ability in his rookie period was not excellent, and more often he relied on his excellent athletic ability to hit the basket and cause damage, but his poor offensive methods couldn't stand up to the accumulation of shots regardless of cost!

On March 21, the Wizards played an away game against the Nets. Leonard played 35 minutes in the game, made 8 of 22 shots, and scored 22 points with free throws. Although the scoring efficiency was not high, the shooting percentage did not even reach 40 %, but it is indeed the highest scoring point in the Wizards except for Curry.

On the 22nd, the Wizards played against the Pacers at home. Leonard became the player who played the most minutes for the Wizards. In 37 minutes of playing time, he took 24 shots, hit 10 goals, scored 24 points, and shot 41%.

On the 24th, the Wizards played against the Hawks at home. Leonard once again became the team's main offensive point. He played 34 minutes and hit 9 goals in 21 shots. He scored 20+ again with a 42% shooting rate!

Three consecutive games, three consecutive 20+ games, this has made Leonard's personal data greatly improved, and his scoring average has exceeded the double-digit mark.

Although Leonard's performance was good, it still dragged down the Wizards' offensive rhythm a bit.

Curry, Thompson, and George used to be the top three scoring points of the Wizards, and their shooting percentages were above 45%. While their scoring efficiency is astonishing, their versatile offensive methods also allow them to help other teammates create attractive opportunities no matter where they are. Fire creates space.

But when Leonard became the main attack point, he couldn't play such a role.

After all, his current offensive level is a little worse than the previous three, and he is extremely easy to be targeted on the field.

Just over 40% hit rate can explain a lot of problems.

Many people don't understand why the Wizards have so many offensive firepower, and Wang Xiao insists on hitting Leonard alone, but both Wang Xiao and the coaching staff of the Wizards can clearly find that in these few games, as the main force Leonard is playing better game after game, and he is playing more and more confidently. While the offensive end is getting better and better, the link he is good at, that is, the defensive end has also become more and more perfect. He and Thompson, George III The defense line composed of people has also become more impenetrable!

Thanks to this, although the Wizards' offensive efficiency has declined significantly, the further improvement in defensive quality has allowed the team to continue to maintain a strong competitiveness in the regular season.

And when the Wizards challenged the Knicks away on March 25, Leonard finally ushered in a real explosion.

In this game, he was facing Carmelo Anthony, a super small forward who may be second only to James in the league.

Due to the butterfly effect, Anthony has not been injured this season like in another time and space. It may be the reason why Deron Williams helped him share a lot of offensive pressure. injury.

So far, Anthony has averaged 24.5 points per game, ranking among the top ten in the scoring list, and is also the player with the highest score at the small forward position outside of Durant and James.

Leonard has played against Anthony several times before this season. Relying on his excellent defensive skills and advantages in wingspan, Leonard made Anthony feel quite uncomfortable, but that's all. up.